Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

One of my bad habits is saying “busy” when people ask me how I'm doing. Sometimes it's because I actually am busy, but other times it's because that's what I think I'm supposed to say. That's what important people say. That's what people who get promoted say. But working long hours doesn't drive better results. Never taking a vacation won't lead to a promotion. So why are we so proud to talk about how busy we are all the time?

In 2016, researchers from Columbia, Harvard, and Georgetown conducted a study to figure it out. They found busy people are perceived to be of high status, and interestingly, these status attributions are heavily influenced by our own beliefs about social mobility. In other words, the more we believe that one has the opportunity for success based on hard work, the more we tend to think that people who skip leisure and work all the time are of higher standing.

That's why we feel like we have to appear busy, and there's a real perception that if someone is knee-deep in meetings, emails, and stress, then they're probably a big deal. This culture of busyness is making it hard for employees to find work-life balance. According to a recent study, one in five highly engaged employees is at risk of burnout.

Personally, I'm going to stop saying “busy” when people ask me how I am. It sounds self-righteous and sets the wrong tone. Phrases like “I have limited access to email” and “I'll respond as soon as I get back” sound like you're being held against your will from working as opposed to making the most of your time off.

That's why we recently launched the Out of Office Email Generator, a free tool you can use before your next long weekend or trip. You can share loud and proud that you won't be checking email until you're back. Managers need to think twice about emailing their teams on the weekend and talking about how busy they are. Leaders should take time off themselves and encourage employees to do the same.

46. What is a reason for the author to be in the habit of saying “busy” when asked how he is doing?

A) He just follows successful people's example.

B) He is actually proud to be fully occupied.

C) He thinks everyone should be devoted to work.

D) He believes busyness ensures accomplishments.

47. Why do we tend to think that busy people are of high status?

A) Our status can be attributed to our social mobility.

B) We hold the belief that hard work leads to success.

C) Our own opportunity for success never comes easily.

D) We find few people of high status have time for leisure.

48. What do we learn about the culture of busyness from a recent study?

A) It places employees in endless meetings, emails and stress.

B) It compels some 20% of employees to appear always busy.

C) It distorts many employees' belief of what a satisfying life is.

D) It does much harm to many busy employees' well-being.

49. What do such utterances as “I have limited access to email” sound like according to the author?

A) One is too busy to check all emails in time.

B) One is opposed to the prevailing work culture.

C) One is forced by circumstances to stop working.

D) One is simply enjoying their time off work.

50. Why did the author and his colleagues launch the Out of Office Email Generator?

A) To enable busy employees to spend less time checking emails.

B) To ensure employees as well as employers truly have time off.

C) To stop managers from talking about how busy their teams usually are.

D) To encourage both employers and employees to answer emails promptly.

Passage Two

Female employees consistently pay lower airfares than men do for the same flights because they tend to book earlier.

We compared the airfare paid by employees in the same position within a company for the same class of travel and used a common statistical technique to account for other factors that might affect differences in airfares. We found that women paid on average $18 less per ticket than their male colleagues. Further investigation allowed us to conclude that this gap is largely explained by the fact that women tended to book earlier than men, 1.8 days on average.

We wanted to determine what was causing these gender differences in booking business trips so we tested a variety of possible explanations, such as women choosing to plan ahead or male frequent travelers being inclined to book late. None of these explained away the gender gap, so we applied data collected from surveys that express consumer preferences that play a central role in economic decisions, such as patience and risk avoidance.

We found that only the concept of “negative reciprocity” — in which an employee who feels unfairly treated engages in negative behaviors, such as spending their company's money less carefully — explains these differences. The surveys showed men tend to exhibit more of these negative behaviors than women. This isn't to say that all men engage in these behaviors — or that booking relatively late is a sign of abnormal behavior. It only means that the gender gap disappears when we plug in the negative reciprocity variable.

Prior research on negative reciprocity among workers found that it can result in lower employee motivation, business performance and workplace morale and culture.

Our results show another way these negative behaviors can manifest themselves, like in airline bookings, and add to evidence that women are less likely to engage in them.

Companies spend significant sums of money on business travel. While that $18 difference per ticket may seem small, it adds up. Our analysis suggests early booking by women can translate into savings of $1 million a year for a large multinational company with 20,000 regular travelers.

51. What did the author's team conclude about the gender difference in airfares from their further investigation?

A) It is largely attributed to women booking earlier than men.

B) It is largely explained by women's choosing cheaper flights.

C) It is mainly accounted for by male employees' readiness to pay more.

D) It is due to the fact that women care more about their company's money.

52. What did the researchers wanted to determine by testing a variety of possible explanations?

A) What made male frequent travelers book air tickets late.

B) What caused women to plan ahead in booking business trips.

C) What motivated women to book cheaper flights.

D) What accounted for the gender gap in airfares.

53. What happened when the negative reciprocity variable was taken into account?

A) Both men and women were found to engage in negative behaviors.

B) Neither men nor women viewed booking late as a bad behavior.

C) The gender difference in airfare expenses no longer existed.

D) The gender gap tended to narrow to a significant degree.

54. What did prior research on negative reciprocity among workers find?

A) It can do more harm to the workplace than to employees.

B) It contributes to the male-female divide in the workplace.

C) It proves to be counterproductive in a number of ways.

D) It can result in increasing labor-management conflicts.

55. What does the author emphasize about their analysis in the last paragraph?

A) It can help companies increase their savings significantly.

B) It can duly contribute to companies' business performance.

C) It can translate women's booking practice into men's behavior.

D) It can enhance large multinational companies' competitiveness.

Answers & Explanations

Passage One: The Culture of Busyness

46. A。解析：题干问作者习惯在被问到近况时说“忙”的一个原因是什么。定位第一段第二/三/四句：...that's what I think I'm supposed to say. That's what important people say. That's what people who get promoted say.（那是我认为应该说的。那是重要的人说的。那是获得晋升的人说的）。说明他在效仿那些成功人士（重要、获得晋升的人）。对应选项 A (He just follows successful people's example 他只是在效仿成功人士的榜样)。

47. B。解析：题干问为什么我们倾向于认为忙碌的人地位高。定位第二段最后一句：...the more we believe that one has the opportunity for success based on hard work, the more we tend to think that people who skip leisure and work all the time are of higher standing.（我们越相信一个人有机会通过努力工作获得成功，我们就越倾向于认为放弃休闲、一直工作的人地位更高）。对应选项 B (We hold the belief that hard work leads to success 我们抱有努力工作带来成功的信念)。

48. D。解析：题干问根据一项最新研究，关于“忙碌文化”我们能了解到什么。定位第三段最后一句：According to a recent study, one in five highly engaged employees is at risk of burnout.（根据最近的一项研究，五分之一的高度敬业的员工有精疲力竭/职业倦怠的风险）。burnout 是对健康的伤害，对应选项 D (It does much harm to many busy employees' well-being 它对许多忙碌员工的健康福祉造成了很大伤害)。

49. C。解析：题干问根据作者的观点，“我对邮件访问受限”这样的话听起来像什么。定位第四段最后一句：Phrases like “I have limited access to email”... sound like you're being held against your will from working as opposed to making the most of your time off.（听起来好像你是违背自己意愿被迫停止工作，而不是在充分利用你的休息时间）。held against your will（违背意愿被阻止）即是被环境所迫，对应选项 C (One is forced by circumstances to stop working 一个人是被环境所迫停止工作的)。

50. B。解析：题干问为什么作者及其同事要推出“不在办公室邮件生成器”。定位最后一段：文章指出这个工具让你可以在休息前自豪地宣布你不查邮件，并接着说 Managers need to think twice about emailing their teams... Leaders should take time off themselves and encourage employees to do the same.（管理者周末给团队发邮件前要三思... 领导者自己应该休息，并鼓励员工也这样做）。最终目的是为了让各层级人员都能真正休息，对应选项 B (To ensure employees as well as employers truly have time off 确保员工和雇主都能真正有时间休息)。

Passage Two: Gender Differences in Booking Flights

51. A。解析：题干问作者团队通过进一步调查得出了关于机票价格性别差异的什么结论。定位第二段最后一句：Further investigation allowed us to conclude that this gap is largely explained by the fact that women tended to book earlier than men...（进一步的调查使我们得出结论，这一差距在很大程度上是因为女性往往比男性更早预订...）。对应选项 A (It is largely attributed to women booking earlier than men 这在很大程度上归因于女性比男性预订得更早)。

52. D。解析：题干问研究人员想通过测试各种可能的解释来确定什么。定位第三段第一句：We wanted to determine what was causing these gender differences in booking business trips so we tested a variety of possible explanations...（我们想确定是什么原因导致了在预订商务旅行时的这些性别差异，所以我们测试了各种可能的解释...）。性别差异（gender differences）即性别差距（gender gap），对应选项 D (What accounted for the gender gap in airfares 是什么解释了机票上的性别差异)。

53. C。解析：题干问当“负面互惠”变量被考虑进去时发生了什么。定位第四段最后一句：It only means that the gender gap disappears when we plug in the negative reciprocity variable.（这只意味着，当我们代入负面互惠变量时，性别差异就消失了）。性别差异消失也就是不再存在，对应选项 C (The gender difference in airfare expenses no longer existed 机票费用的性别差异不再存在)。

54. C。解析：题干问之前关于工人间负面互惠的研究发现了什么。定位第五段：Prior research on negative reciprocity among workers found that it can result in lower employee motivation, business performance and workplace morale and culture.（之前的研究发现，它会导致员工积极性、业务绩效以及工作场所士气和文化的降低）。这说明这种行为会导致反效果/适得其反，对应选项 C (It proves to be counterproductive in a number of ways 事实证明它在很多方面都适得其反)。

55. A。解析：题干问作者在最后一段强调了他们分析的什么？定位最后一段最后一句：Our analysis suggests early booking by women can translate into savings of $1 million a year for a large multinational company...（我们的分析表明，女性的尽早预订可以为一家大型跨国公司转化为每年 100 万美元的节省）。这强调了对公司节省资金的巨大帮助，对应选项 A (It can help companies increase their savings significantly 它可以帮助公司显着增加节省的资金)。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• be supposed to：被期望，应该（that's what I think I'm supposed to say）
• knee-deep in：深陷其中的，忙于...的（someone is knee-deep in meetings）
• as opposed to：而不是，相对于（as opposed to making the most of your time off）
• think twice about：三思而行（need to think twice about emailing）
• account for：解释，说明原因（account for other factors that might affect differences）
• inclined to：倾向于...（being inclined to book late）
• explain away：把...解释过去，通过解释消除（None of these explained away the gender gap）
• add up：积少成多（While that $18 difference per ticket may seem small, it adds up）

【亮点句型解析】

• The more... the more... (越...就越...)：
  "...the more we believe that one has the opportunity for success based on hard work, the more we tend to think that people who skip leisure and work all the time are of higher standing."
  （我们越相信一个人有机会通过努力工作获得成功，我们就越倾向于认为放弃休闲、一直工作的人地位更高。）双重比较级句型，逻辑极其严密，非常有说服力，是考场作文的必背杀手锏。
• This isn't to say that... (否定与澄清的过渡句式)：
  "This isn't to say that all men engage in these behaviors — or that booking relatively late is a sign of abnormal behavior."
  （这并不是说所有的男人都会有这些行为——或者说相对较晚地预订是不正常行为的标志。）在进行绝对化或敏感性论述后，使用 `This isn't to say that` 或 `It doesn't mean that` 来及时澄清并缩小打击面，是一种非常严谨、无懈可击的学术论述方式。